In 1951, after studying architecture in Milan, Pier Luigi Pizzi began a career that has included extensive work as costume designer, set designer, production designer, art director, and director in the fields of opera, theatre, cinema, and television. He has won several Abbiati prizes and France awarded him the Légion d’honneur and named him Officier des arts et des lettres. He is Grand’Ufficiale al merito of the Italian Republic and Commandeur de l’Ordre du Mérite Culturel of the Monaco Principality. In 1990 he inaugurated the Opéra Bastille. He directed the premières of several La Scala seasons with Riccardo Muti on the podium, including Verdi’s Vespri siciliani, Gluck’s Armide, and Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta. In 2003 he was entrusted with supervising the reconstruction of La Fenice Theatre following the 1986 fire. Since 2006 Pizzi has been director of the Sferisterio Opera Festival in Macerata, Italy.